Walking the Ruins

Boot

We all run outside as the scream ebbs away and is replaced by a series of sobs. They come from Elaine, who is standing with Kevin at the forest's edge, where the trail enters the clearing.

"What's the matter?" Steve calls and runs towards them.

Kevin points at the ground.

I wonder if they have found another skull as I join them.

Kevin's hand is extended towards a black object lying in the grass. It's a boot. And... a leg. Part of a leg. And blood, loads of it.

"It's..." Elaine is still sobbing. "It's..." She takes a breath, shuddering.

I know the boot. I saw it only minutes ago. "It's Sumo's."

Expecting more carnage, I scan the grass and the bushes. There's nothing, though. Just the boot lying on its side. A hand's length of leg projecting from it. A section of trouser still surrounding the leg but leaving some pale skin exposed. The fabric and tissue end in a neat cut. Blood.

A fat fly lands where the skin meets the fabric of the pants.

Elaine doubles over, gagging.

Rose reaches us, placing a hand on Elaine's back. "What's...?" She sees the mess. "Shit!"

Steve steps around our find and searches below the trees and bushes. "There's nothing else here."

I don't have to ask what he is looking for.

A tree trunk stands right beside us. It leans towards the clearing and ends abruptly as if sawed off. I touch the cut surface. It's smooth and moist. "It's cut off."

"Huh?" Rose frowns at me.

"Look at this. The tree's cut off. Right here." I tap the cut trunk. "The rest of it is missing. And all the other trees, too, their branches that reached out into the... clearing." I point up. "It's... as if the forest has been cut here. All the way through. And..." I look down at the boot. "...the leg, too."

"Damn it!" Jenny's voice startles me. I haven't seen her approach. "Didn't I tell you. We should never have come—"

"Stop it," Steve barks, cutting her short.

We have retreated to the center of the clearing, standing close to each other.

"What do we do now?" Rose asks, holding Elaine, who has calmed down somewhat.

Steve points in the direction where we have found the boot. "Do you see the ridge over there?" "That's where we came from, before descending that steep shortcut."

Jenny snorts at the word shortcut.

Steve turns and points in the opposite direction. "So that's where the pavilion should be. The others might be there."

"You're sure?" Rose's voice is thin.

Steve shrugs. "If we stay here, we'll never know. So, do we go?" He points once more towards the suspected location of that pavilion.

"What about the... boot?" Jenny's voice is unsteady.

"What about it?" Steve asks. "Do you want to take it with you?"

Jenny presses her lips together.

Steve lifts both his hands, palms outwards. "We'll tell the police."

The police... I guess we all wonder if we find them, but I don't say it. "Yes, let's go." I'm eager to leave this place, eager to be anywhere but here.

The heat of the sun is cooking me in my bad-weather gear. I take off my still wet raincoat. Then I march over to my backpack to tie it, using the same straps that hold the sleeping bag. When I shoulder the thing, I am immediately rewarded by the unpleasant feeling of my clammy T-shirt pressed against my back.